Welcome to Stage 10 of the 88th Giro d'Italia! The peloton had
its first rest day on Tuesday, and today is the ultimate sprinter's stage -
flat, flat, flat, with three finishing circuits in Rossano as the peloton moves
up the eastern side of Italy. Here is Fabio's preview of the stage from his Giro
presentaton:

Rossano Veneto Coat of Arms.

Tuesday is rest day at Giro d'Italia. But before giving ourselves a
well-deserved break, we cover one more stage, the long but completely flat ride
taking place as the event resumes the following day. Which takes the peloton
from Romagna to the Veneto region of north-eastern Italy, from Ravenna to
Rossano Veneto, that makes its debut as Giro stage finish town. Rossano is part
of the Vicenza province, in the outskirts of better-known Bassano del Grappa,
but not far from the Treviso area the Fassa-Bortolo HQs are located at. And
there’s no doubt that a(nother) win by Alessandro Petacchi in Veneto's
"traditional" sprinter's stage would be more than welcomed by his team sponsors.
Whether all other fastmen around (many having their last chance before the
Dolomite mountain monsters force them out of the Corsa Rosa) agree or not, is a
whole different thing.

So as we start, the Pink Jersey is off the back of the peloton for some reason. There are four or five guys who are with him, riding back up through the cars. Maybe a nature break or mechanical? The peloton is sitting up, waiting for Di Luca's return, though.

The peloton is just riding piano today, with Gerolsteiner on the front setting a very moderate pace.

Seems as though everyone is already waiting for the sprint at the finish. Today's stage has absolutely no difficulties. There are a couple of undulations near the end, but even Quaranta (were he still in the race) would have no problem with them. The laps in Rossano Veneto are very, very flat.

The rest day yesterday was anything but for Cunego, Simoni and Basso - there were press conferences and appearances. Simoni and Cunego gave their basic game plan: "We have seen that Basso is strong, but we are stronger. We won't wait for the Stelvio or the Colle delle Finestre. Starting Thursday we will attack."

Cunego and Simoni posed for the photographers dressed in boxing gear, jokingly putting their gloved fists to each other's faces and smiling while the media clicked away.

1523 CEST - A little train of Discovery Channel riders is near the front. Savoldelli is tucked in the back of that train, well protected. He lost his climbing ally Danielson, who said that he thinks he hurt his knee on that big day up to Brasstown Bald, the big climb in Georgia where he took the stage and the Tour de Georgia last month.

Savoldelli has proven that he's on form and ready for the mountains that start Thursday. On point of the peloton are Gerolsteiner, who must be working for Intergiro leader Krauss. The peloton hits the Intergiro sprint.

Hmm... looks like a Selle Italia rider, Illiano, went through first at the sprint. He now is off the front on an attack. 2nd was a Quick Step rider, 3rd a Domina Vacanze rider.

Illiano has that long hair of his streaming out from the back of his helmet while he puts the hammer down. Meanwhile, Di Luca sits comfortably in the peloton. Bored with the race, the Italian producers experiment with funky graphics with Di Luca in the frame. Weird.

1530 CEST - 100 km left. Well, it was Di Biase who won the Intergiro sprint, Zanini was 2nd. Illiano gets his jacket from the team car... must be getting cold and lonely off the front.

So Fassa Bortolo, emboldened by Petacchi finally nailing down a sprint victory last stage, sets a moderate pace on the front of the peloton now. Meanwhile, Di Luca gets a bike change off the back. He must have had ongoing mechanical problems.

He is back in the cars again with his boys guiding him up to the pack. Some other riders stop to take a nature break. Illiano has 38" at this point, but clearly, many riders could give a, well, a nature break. Ahem.

Illiano flies past one of the many, many Esso stations on the route. Seems like they are everywhere. The crowd is now thickening on the sides of the road as the riders approach Rovigo. Fans by the road are screaming Di Luca's name very loudly and clearly as they see the Pink Jersey chasing back to the peloton with his mates.

During yesterday's rest day there was also a preview of the opening stages of next year's Giro, which will start in the north, in Belgium. Saturday the 6th of May 2006 is the prologue time trial in Liege. Sunday is a stage from Mons to Charleroi, Monday's stage 2 is Perwez to Namur, and Tuesday the race departs from Wanze toward Germany.

The Giro does this every few years (beginning in another country, that is). Much like the Tour de France, the Italians try to bring their race to fans throughout Europe to vary the parcours and expand their markets.

Illiano is still off the front with his fanatabulous hair flowing in the breeze. The graphics show that Di Luca, who is back in the peloton, only has a heart rate of 97 right now, barely 50% of his max. Geez, my heart rate gets higher than that driving to work.

It does... I've driven to work in my cycling gear before, heart rate monitor and all... I usually get up to about 110. It goes up to about 130 if some jackass cuts me off.

1547 CEST - Illiano has gotten Fassa Bortolo and CSC organized in the chase, with his gap creeping up to 1' 28" now. Not nearly enough though, given the nature of the stage and the still-hungry temperament of the sprinters.

But hey, thank the Lord for his attack... it will get his sponsor lots of TV time on this very bland roll to a sprint finish.

Thanks to Thunder in Australia for the kindly email about the tickers. You know, one of my nicknames for Stuart O'Grady is Red Thunder from Down Under. Know that tickering is its own reward. That and those trips on assignment to France. Those rule too.

1554 CEST - The roads leading into the city of Monselice are crowded with fans. To liven up the visuals, the producers are showing helicopter shots of some very cool castles up on a hill in the city. Then they cut to a shot of Illiano and his magic hair. Are they implying that Illiano is built like a brick, uh, castle?

A Saunier Duval rider is back talking to the race referree... it's Marco Pinotti, who had such a great Tour of Georgia. Wonder what that chat was all about.

1558 CEST - The riders have been on their bikes for four hours already. They aren't exactly blistering the roads today. That will come at the end. Illiano has a gap of 1' 33". The clouds overhead are very threatening, and up ahead in the distance we can see a huge downpour. A light rain begins to fall.

A Fassa rider points to the sky as if to say, "Oh crap." The rain vests are now out, and the Fassa boys are wrapped up in a nice shade of blue as they keep Illiano's break in check.

Bettini is struggling with his rain slicker now. And he just had his hair done yesterday. Dammit. The rain isn't that bad yet, but that sky is ugly.

1603 CEST - Illiano's attack continues to suck up the TV time, but that's about it. He's not getting far away from the peloton today. The riders start to roll through the feed zone, which will be very very very tricky in the rain.

Hope nobody ends up in the very beautiful canal that adorns the left side of the road.

The TV coverage shows a Panaria-Navigare helper dancing around to hand out the feed bags to his team. Tricky business, that... you have to jump out of the way of riders from other teams coming in to grab a bag from their man. The handoff itself is a study in how not to get your arm ripped off.

1608 CEST - Whoa, in Mezzavia, Illiano goes through a very very narrow bridge that has hay bales in front of the concrete barriers on both sides of the entrance. That is a narrow bridge on a sharp left hand turn in the rain right after a feed zone. That will be dangerous when the peloton gets there.

The peloton is taking this very, very carefully. Riders have come to a full stop, just to make sure they don't crash. Nobody has gone down, but only because the riders have clearly said, "Screw this, we're not racing through this crazy bridge."

Now the peloton slowly begins to pick up momentum again. Illiano is hammering away off the front, trying to increase his gap as the peloton picks its way carefully through the narrow streets of this city.

1613 CEST - The roads are thick with fans, and the sides of the road are littered with beautiful Italian cathedrals and parks, and assorted old-world-charmey scenery.

Hmmm... another couple of tricky turns that Illiano has to navigate carefully... he almost overcooked the last one. This will be tricky for the peloton, again.

1616 CEST - The riders have about 70km left. Well, the peloton has slowed way down again to make it through those corners. The Pink Jersey is right up near the front, making sure he doesn't get caught out if there are any crashes.

Massimo Codol takes his usual place as the early hammer in the Fassa train. Codol does the work to keep breaks in check and chase them down. Illiano now has a 1' 36" lead on the peloton, which means that Codol is doing his usual impressive work leading the chase.

When Simoni won his first Giro in 2001, he was riding for the Lampre squad. With the Lampre-Saeco merger in the off season, he's now back in the colors he wore during the beginning of his glory days. On the last day in of the 2001 race, Simoni and his teammates (and some of the team staff and riders' wives) dyed their hair blue and pink to match the Lampre colors, and to celebrate Simoni's Pink Jersey victory.

If Lampre pulls off another overall victory in this tour, let's hope they don't repeat that bad hair fiasco... it was pretty hideous. I'm an old punk who is all about funky hair color, but man... Simoni's head looked like some cheap, fuzzy lounge seat.

1624 CEST - Ongarato of Fassa Bortolo has a nice moment... he rides off the front of the peloton to greet his family and friends. There is a huge sign with his name on it. Very cool.

Ongarato was talking to the TV cameraman a minute ago. I no speaka Italiano, but that must have been what they were on about.

Ongarato has now made his way back up to the front to help Codol in the chase of Illiano. Clearly, if Fassa has men from their train stopping to give out hugs on the side of the road, they are not worried about Illiano staying away. Still, the Selle Italia-Colombia rider is really hammering to keep his slim advantage over the pack.

Uh-oh, Illiano has some problem with his shoe. He fusses with it for a minute, then gets out of the saddle to raise the pace again. No clue what that was about.

1630 CEST - 58 km left. The riders roll through the absolutely stunning and charming city of Padova. There is some nasty road furniture that is likely annoying the heck out of the riders. On the other hand, flocks of fans are once again at the side of the road.

Ongarato is leading the peloton. The pace still isn't too high... just high enough to keep the lone attacker Illiano in check. Petacchi is at the back of his train shoveling down the gel packs and energy drinks. Zabel is in a familiar spot, which is just behind Petacchi (doh!).

Zabel had a good finish last stage, and seems to be improving. Zabel is a great climber for a sprinter, and always gets more dangerous the further into the race he gets.

1637 CEST - 50km left. Illiano stretches his lead by a few seconds to 1' 50". He'd need a ten minute lead by this point to have a chance to win. Still, great TV exposure, and you can never tell what might happen. With the tricky roads and rain on this flat stage, an accident could slow things down and give him a shot. Better to attack than sit on.

Illiano has become a sort of Jacky Durand of the Giro, except much more dashing with that hair and all. At the finish line, fans look around and wonder who is playing that funky Italian country music (is that Gianni Cash or what?). Fortunately, the Fassa riders on the front can't hear the music and keep driving the front of the peloton. If they could hear that music, they might not be so anxious to get to the finish line.

The Spanish region of Cantabria has made an agreement with the red-bird Saunier Duval outfit until December 2006 to promote Cantabria - "Cantabria Infinita" (Infinite Cantabria). The team is based there, and this is further fruit of their strong showing this season.

1642 CEST - Illiano scarfs down an energy bar and smiles at the cameraman. He's stretched his lead to 1' 55", impressive given the chase on behind.

Seems like there are an awful lot of Esso and Shell stations in Italy. Illiano gets another energy drink and gets some advice from his team car. And then he gets out of the saddle again. (With all the caffeine in one of those energy drinks, Illiano could probably light up a small city with his wattage output right now.)

Back in the peloton, a Disco rider guides Savoldelli around to the back of the Fassa train. They are doing a great job of keeping the Italian favorite out of trouble; the mountains will, of course, be a different story.

1649 CEST - 40km left. Well, the gas has certainly gone down in the peloton... they've shut down Illiano to only a 42" lead! CSC, Lampre, and Discovery all have little GC trains near the front behind Fassa Bortolo.

So will Illiano now being brought back, it will be time for another nap. The gap is now only 32".

1654 CEST - Illiano is giving another few well-coiffed flourishes off the front (dig it while you can, ladies), but he looks over his shoulder and sees that the jig will soon be up.

1658 CEST - 31km left. The riders hit Cittadella with Illiano still managing a slim 24" lead. The peloton is breathing down his neck now.

Whoa, a Domina Vacanze rider (Vanotti?) almost comes to grief along the right side of the road... some bad pavement.

Maglia rosa Di Luca said after Wednesday's stage that "I feel strong enough to defend this jersey and I think I will be in the front on the finish in Zoldo Alto [Thursday] together with Garzelli and Cioni."

Liquigas Bianchi Team manager Zanatta says that Di Luca has "the winner’s attitude. He’s giving us great thrills. Of course, we aim at performing well all through the Giro, above all in the last decisive week. That’s why we are keeping our energies..."

Well, I've been saying in my columns that I think Di Luca is an actual, long-term GC threat. He's on the form of his life, and with his talent, you can't discount his chances at the top ten in Milano.

1703 CEST - Illiano sits up right after the 30km sign and rejoins the peloton. Now CSC take over at the front while Basso has a chat with Di Luca just behind.

Cedric Vasseur and another Cofidis teammate go off the front. Whoah! Di Luca has a quick go!

The Cofidis guys were just moving up to set the pace, looks like, and Di Luca was just showing his pink and white backside to everybody, just to remind them of what they've seen so often this season.

With nobody off the front, guys are just stretching their legs a bit before the inevitable sprint finish. Cofidis must be thinking of O'Grady again. Uh oh, a few riders take a wrong turn and have to go across a grass-covered piece of road furniture.

Oh hell, it was the whole front of the race! The camera moto made a wrong turn, and the Cofidis men on the front just followed him! The top twenty guys in the peloton, including Di Luca and Basso, got caught out and had to do a sharp reversal.

1708 CEST - 25 km left. The peloton is all together, no worries. Just something to laugh about tonight. A rider has to get a quick wheel change... It is Ardila Cano of Davitamon-Lotto.

Basso is back chatting with his team car... he may have messed up his bike back there with that confusion. He has some teammates dropping back to help pace him up to the front again.

So now there is a four-strong string of CSC riders pacing behind the team cars, tryng to get back to the front of the race. Three more CSC riders show up, so now seven CSC men trying to bridge the gap back to the peloton.

Another corner with a divider in the middle, splitting some of the peloton. Basso is still about 10" behind.

1715 CEST - The Panaria team car driver is having words with a race official over something... they are pointing at each other while they talk. Hmmm... Meanwhile, Cofidis continues to stretch out the peloton. Don't follow the camera moto, boys! 20km left.

CSC looks to have made it back to the peloton with Basso. Wonder what that was all about.

The heart rates are up... Kirsipuu is at 93%, Velo at 90% of his max. If the heart rates are up, that means that the hammer is down. The peloton reaches Rossano Veneto.

1719 CEST - Three laps until the finish.

That finishing straight looks pretty good... a couple of sweepers, but no real hard corners. It should be a real blistering finish for the sprinters. Cofidis, Davitamon, and Fassa are all massing near the front.

Ooops, now they go through a hard left... the Fassa train will have to keep from flying off the road there like they did on the last finish like this. But the sun has come out and the roads are dry. 14km left.

These 5.2km laps are a bit short, but the roads don't seem too bad. Shouldn't be a problem.

Liberty Seguros staying near the front. They must be trying to set Beloki up for the sprint. Not.

Fofonov (Cofidis) is on point with three mates behind him. They've been working for a while now. Whoa, there was another sketchy corner... the riders will have to watch that on the last lap. It's not too far from the finish. The Fassa Train moves up, Bettini of Quick Step and McEwen of Davitamon not far away.

1725 CEST - FDJeux.com moving Cooke up now too, along the right side. Cofidis still working hard, showing the colors. Nice.

1729 CEST - And let the elbow throwing commence. Zabel is in a scrum with Di Baise, who's moving up behind FDJeux.com. Those FDJ boys are now on the point driving it, with the Fassas coming up parallel to them, with a couple of T-Mobiles mixed in. The usual suspects.

Schmitz is on the front now for T-Mobile. Zabel and/or Pollack must be feeling friskie.

1731 CEST - The T-Mobiles are still in control on this second of three laps. They have five men up there, with Fassa in the wings waiting for their moment.

1732 CEST - 5.2km left. The riders are rolling through for the final lap. There's the bell.

Well, we are having technical difficulties now that we are almost to the finish...

2 to go - Lancaster and Grillo up front.

Here we go - Robbie and Alejet...

The Fassa train comes to the front on cue. The are coming up the left barriers. Now here comes Petacchi... and it's McEwen!

Petacchi drove it right up the left side of the road, and McEwen came off his wheel on the right, and took it... by the width of Paris Hilton's IQ! Man that was a close one! It was a photo finish, but Robbie actually took Petacchi straight up that time by the width of a tire. By the tread of his tire.

O'Grady was up there, as were Bettini, Galvez, and some of the familiar faces.

Zabel was not far away, and Grillo was up there. De Jongh from Rabobank tried to crash the party, jumping onto McEwen's wheel, but he faded at the end. Zabel put in a helluva sprint to try to come around McEwen on the right.

O'Grady was behind Zabel, and he tried to come around Petacchi on the left. It was close between Zabel and O'Grady for 3rd. McEwen now pulls on the Points Jersey.

Interesting... Bettini was contesting that sprint, and is still in 2nd in the points competition. Will McEwen withdraw from the Giro now that he is up 3-1 on Petacchi? I wouldn't... this is too good an opportunity.

If he does pull out, Bettini is right there to take over. Di Luca is in the Pink Jersey of GC leader still, and Koldo Gil (Liberty Seguros) is still in the Green Jersey of mountains leader. He'll have to work hard to defend that in the next few days.

Krauss still wears the Blue Jersey of Intergiro leader.

Di Luca is in the post-race interview, and he's softening up the Lampre boys with praise. That's a nice thing to do: compliment your rivals before you try to go after them. Of course, Di Luca is right... Lampre is scary strong in the mountains.

McEwen is speaking Italian in an interview on Italian TV, and he's doing so well I can't make it out. Me no speaka Italiano. Dangit. His Italian is choppy, but he's speaking it.

Meanwhile, Petacchi's wife is looking grumpy in the interview studio... she was clearly expecting to be talking with the interviewers about a win by her man.

A few parting notes: Anticipating rain this afternoon, the Giro organizers were prepared to neutralize the final three laps to two in order to insure the safety of the riders. Glad that was not necessary.

And we also send our best wishes out to Cofidis physician David Riabi, who was injured in a head on traffic accident earlier today with another vehicle (not on the stage route). He had to be extricated from his vehicle by emergency personnel and received a transfusion at the scene. He is being treated at a hospital but apparently his injuries are not serious.